And this week’s token T-Pain guest spot goes to…
[Video][Myspace]
[5.67]
Al Shipley: Last year, rap’s least radio-friendly super producer, Just Blaze, came out of the woodwork to score his first #1 with T.I.’s “Life Your Life,” a shameless pop smash that actually retained his boom bap sensibility. But the problem with an artist coming off of a successful reinvention is that they’re all too happy to keeping riding that high with a virtually identical follow-up.
[2]
Alex Macpherson: I always suspected that there was a great song somewhere in T.I.’s ‘Live Your Life’, smothered in ear-bleedingly terrible MAIIAHIIII samples and unwanted, over-Autotuned Rihanna. And this is it! Similarly triumphalist, but with space for the ingredients to breathe as well as surge irresistibly forward. T-Pain’s chorus is one of the biggest he’s done recently and the introduction of the treated guitar in the closing half minute is a touch of genius; unlikely as it may seem, the hitherto unremarkable Maino may have just delivered his second unstoppable anthem in a row.
[8]
Ian Mathers: This, this is why T-Pain has a career – the smooth, thundering hook practically oozes triumphalism and between that hook, Maino’s ingratiatingly hungry verses and the surprisingly compelling production (pizzicato strings on a rap song are almost always good, especially when paired with thickly buzzing synths), “All the Above” is one of the few “look at me, I’m awesome and I’m going to be rich and also you can’t judge me” songs that actually kind of makes you root for the guy.
[8]
Jordan Sargent: Maino had a hit last year, the great “Hi Hater”, that by all accounts dominated summer in New York City. It never really popped off nationally though, so it’s pretty rich to see this grimey, archetypal NY rapper coming back with a T-Pain chorusingle co-produced by the Atlanta duo Nard & B. The other producer is Just Blaze, which makes sense seeing that “All the Above” sounds like a “Live Your Life” demo. Even T-Pain’s chorus is lazy and uninventive, which makes Maino’s stock verses about perseverance and triumph even funnier.
[4]
Rodney J. Greene: Epic doesn’t work for Maino. Despite styling himself as closely to an ornery Southern rapper as is possible for a Brooklynite, fellow stylistic carpetbagger Just Blaze’s giant trap-rap synths and busy Runners drums do him no favors. Whereas “Hi Hater”‘s sparse NY beat allowed plenty of room for Maino to get straight up goonish, he sounds trapped inside the production here.
[5]
Martin Kavka: Hip-hop is essentially about posturing; when it’s successful, there’s evidence that there’s substance behind the posture. Maino claims that he deserves wealth, which is a bit cheeky for a track so soft and string-laden that it seems to be modeling for Victoria’s Secret. But there’s one good reason to believe him: the line “the new Benz is all white, call it John McCain.”
[7]
Hillary Brown: See, he gets a 6 because he’s a survivor and deserves something for all the pain he’s been through. That’s how this works, right?
[6]
Additional Scores
John M. Cunningham: [4]
Martin Skidmore: [7]